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(Archive) Fiend’s Reach (city)
The last city on the shore. The whole wide world. The drowned claw. City of the washashores. All apt names for the titular city of Fiend's Reach. Economy The backbone of Fiend's Reach economy is in the crop farming, fishing, and mining done by common folk. Mining is built upon by smiths, wizards, and psychics that convert the ores into usable items. Their goods are traded through the Merchant Lords of the marketplace; taking their cut appropriately. Taxes are heavy in all but the slums and marketplace. This has driven many people to the former district, while those with a talent for business exploit it in the later. Many accept these high taxes as a necessary evil to protect them. Government The government of Fiend's Reach is on the surface a mayoral system in which a new leader is elected once every 3 years following the shadow storms. It's no secret though that this is merely a ruse. Many people will tell you how much faith in their governor they have, and how the whispers about a secret guild of elites is just rumors by old drunks. Those old drunks will tell you the truth though. Every three years a new governor will run for office. He or she will base their entire campaign around righting the wrongs of the incumbent mayor, as well as doing the dos that the current elected official has failed to do. They make all sorts of promises and assurances when trying to get their votes tallied up. In the end though, it's always the same. They get elected or they don't, but regardless nothing of real change happens. Sure maybe a street that's broken a thousand wagon wheels will finally be fixed (shutting down a main thoroughfare for a year and a half). A hospital will be renamed and reopened with bouts of fanfare even though not a single healer has been hired. There might be plenty to talk about happening, but none of it ever seems to have substance. The real power that runs the city lies in the shadows, or so the old drunks say. There's a group that controls who gets elected, who gets put on the ballot, which taxes go where, what new laws get on the books and which laws get forgotten about. Some will tell you that it's a cult devoted to some long forgotten god of the sea; slowly getting the Drowned Claw ready for sacrifice. Others will tell you it's a confederacy of guilds that want nothing more than to keep power in their respective industries. Others still say that it's a league of assassins that just gets a kick out of dictating what happens in Fiend's Reach; like it's some kind of chess game. Regardless which story you believe, there's no doubt that something isn't quite right about how the city's run. This isn't true for the whole city though. A number of districts are more or less self contained when it comes to law and governance. The Academy decides how things go in the mage quarter. No one would dare tell the Merchant Lords of the Marketplace how to run things. No body would listen to anyone but the church of Iomedae in the Temple District. And the Spirit Council? Well who would want Soothsayer's Row? Geography Fiend's Reach lies in a harbor. No one quite knows when the city got its name, but they all know why. A casual observation over the bay will reveal how the docks and piers all come together to make a wicked looking claw. Taking a look out from the bell tower on a clear night will show you why. Risen up from the seafloor are some underwater hills that distinctly take the shape of a fiendish claw. When the moon hits the water just right, you can see the red glint coming off of those hills. Beyond the harbor are some very mild seas. Once every three years for nearly the entirety of Rova all forms of sea trade shut down for the shadow storms. Wicked black clouds will roll in, with lightning peeling off of them almost constantly but entirely silently. People stay as far from the harbor as much as they can during this month for fear of being struck by the purple haunting lightning. Sailors that live close by, or that need to manage their rigs during this month speak of strange shapes and beasts they see in the clouds. It is not uncommon for those that live near the harbor to stock up on supplies throughout Arodus and simply lock themselves in until the storms pass. Aside from the shadow storms, the sea is arguably the nicest area surrounding Fiend's Reach. The other sides of the city are flanked by a forest and a mountain. The forest has partly been cleared out for farmland, and many of the older elves agree that was a mistake. The second most common place for a person to go missing is past the treeline. At night, howls can be heard coming from the forests, but as any animal handler or treater of afflictions of the mind will tell you: animals don't make those kind of howls. The mountains flanking Fiend's Reach have been split open by a mine. The size of the great mine is immense; the proudest achievement of Reacher Dwarves. It regularly supplies the city with usable building materials and precious metals. Many of the special trinkets that you find in Soothsayer's Row are crafted from the gems found within those mines. The forest is the second most common place for people to go missing near Fiend's Reach. The first is not the sea though. Nor is it the dwarven mines; although it would be so easy for one to get lost in it's labyrinth tunnels. No, the most likely place for a stray to go missing is beneath the city itself. No one in living memory recalls any tales of what the city is built upon. Some guess that it's ancient catacombs for an extinct race of giants that lived in these lands first. Others claim that beings from the cold black void of the stars dug great giant magic circles for teleportation rituals. And others still believe that this is where Sarenrae rent a hole in the material plane to through the rough beast. All that is known is this: 1. If you hear a melodious tune being sung from those vaults, don't investigate. And 2. The locks on the adamantine gates beneath the sewers are changed once a month, on the dot. Districts Administrative Ward The Harbor The Mage Quarter Marketplace Residential Areas The Slums Soothsayer's Row Temple District History The city of Fiend's Reach was founded long ago by a paladin of Aroden and his clergy. These pilgrims, as the story goes, came from a distant land in hopes of finding or founding a place where they could create a beacon of light in these dark lands. When they arrived at the Drowned Claw they built the first walls, what is now known simply as the Temple District. When Aroden died and the unnamed paladin went mad with grief, tyranny took hold of the Last City on the Shore. In time the other faiths rallied against this tyranny. It was through magic, manipulation, and in some cases manslaughter that the city was freed. The tyrannical would manage to keep some bit of power though in the city's third district, the Marketplace. Once the dust had settled, there were a number of individuals who had acquired enough power and influence to take hold of the city's trade. Their descendants (either spiritual or literal) are the Merchant Lords; a collection of powerful individuals who have a tight grip on all trade in the city. The Merchant Lords would never have been able to rise to power were it not for another result of the city's escape from tyranny; the Academy. Mages that fought against the tyrant king were rewarded with one quarter of the city. Here they devoted their efforts to studying the arcane. As a byproduct, there was a magical economic boom. Magic items became commonplace; spell casting services became the norm. The academics used the profits from their trade to fund more and more eldrich studies. Following this sudden influx of wealth and power was a boom in population. With easier access to defensive magics, the population flourished. To feed these people a few crop farms were established just outside of the walls. Fishermen took to the shore and built the city's namesake. A strange set of underwater hills and valleys formed the shape of a great claw in the harbor, which was only accentuated when the docks were built upon them and so the harbor as we know it was born. The population of course needed space to live of course. Houses, apartments, and even a mansion or two were built throughout the city. These worked their way through the settlement like roots and acted as a somewhat natural barrier between the various districts. Not all could afford such quality living arrangements though. The poor and destitute made by with shanty towns next to the harbor. Crime took hold here in the slums and hasn't left since. The expansive population actually lead to higher crime rates across the entire city. Before another coup was attempted, city officials gathered together and began to create stronger laws to reign the people in and make the city safer. They began their meetings in the governor's mansion which set opposite the harbor. After months of deliberation, they finally came out of their secret meeting rooms with the core of Fiend's Reach's current legal system. Guards were formally hired and sent out on patrols, not to protect the city from the lurking dark without, but the festering dark within. Soon enough, the governor's mansion was not the only building for administrative tasks. An entire ward was built around it, overlooking the rest of the city. The one district whose history isn't quite easy to pin down is Soothsayer's Row. No one knows quite when it started to appear. It was as if one day it had always been there. History books would likely place the establishment of the Esoteric Alley around the same time as the building of the harbor, but earliest accounts treat the neighborhood as familiar and old. Inhabitants The natives of Fiend's Reach are quite superstitious. Most try to stay within the city walls when they can. The mines, crops, and fisheries all require workers to leave the safety of those walls; but few dare travel beyond the sight of them. These individuals are the backbone of Fiend's Reach's prosperity. Without the miners, the mages wouldn't have the resources to craft their wares. Without the fishers and farmers, the city would starve quickly. Religion Many religions are freely practiced in Fiend's Reach. Iomedae has the strongest presence, as it only makes sense that the Inheritor would take root following the city's founder's patron's death. This is rivaled only by followers of Asmodeus. The Lord of the Pit offered his assistance to overthrow the tyrant king following Aroden's death. The reason he chose to side with rebellion in this case is unknown to all but the high priest of Asmodeus, but it was almost assuredly to serve some greater plot that has yet to come to fruition; at least to the public eye. The few religions that are not practiced openly are those that worship demons, daemons, and those aligned with them.Category:Archives